Oakland triple-murderer sent to death row

OAKLAND -- David Mills became the 43rd and possibly last person from Alameda County sentenced to death Friday as a judge agreed with a jury's decision to give the 38-year-old, triple murderer the ultimate punishment.

Saying evidence presented during both the guilt phase and penalty phase of Mills' trial proved he killed three people in a calculated fashion, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Joseph Hurley ruled that Mills deserves death.

"He did not just kill three people, he wanted to kill four," Hurley said. "It is the judgment and order of this court that you should suffer the death penalty."

Mills was found guilty of killing James Martin, 28, Dale Griffin, 36, and Rebecca Martinez, 22, in 2005 during what was supposed to be a meeting in which he returned a gun belonging to Martinez's ex-boyfriend. Mills also attempted to kill Elizabeth Martinez, 34, but she survived her wounds and later identified Mills as the shooter.

Mills killed the three victims without warning as he approached a car they were sitting in and systematically began shooting the victims in the head. The shots intended for Elizabeth Martinez instead hit a pit bull that was sitting on her lap.

Mills did not testify during his trial but said in a statement read by his attorney, William DuBois, that he was innocent.

"I wish I could give you the answers us all deserve. You all need more clarity then what this trial has given you," Mills wrote. "I don't mean to sound cold hearted but I cannot ask for forgiveness or show remorse because I am not guilty."

Mills said he did not wish to tell the truth because he did not want to be a snitch.

"I am not a coldblooded killer, what I am is a solid dude who didn't become a rat, a snitch or a turncoat," Mills said in his statement.

That brought a swift and strong rebuke from Hurley, who called Mills "ludicrous."

"His attempt to equate being a snitch with coming forward with the truth is ludicrous," Hurley said.

Senior deputy district attorney Jim Meehan proved Mills' guilt with evidence that linked the Oakland native to the crime in numerous ways.

Elizabeth Martinez identified Mills as the shooter just minutes after the shootings, and Mills was arrested a day later with the murder weapon in his possession.

Mills' defense attorneys, William DuBois and William Linehan, attempted to convince the jury that someone else carried out the shootings as they presented evidence showing that the victims had either drug abuse problems or were members of a gang.

And the defense attorneys hoped to spare their client's life by introducing evidence showing Mills has had a positive influence on the lives of his children and suffered a horrific childhood that included being forced by his mother to sell drugs when he was 7 years old.

But jurors said after their verdict that Mills was old enough at the time of the killings to know what he was doing was wrong. The manner in which Mills killed his victims and the number of people he murdered far outweighed any consideration they gave to the troubles Mills had growing up, the jurors said.

Linehan said Friday that his client's life is now in the hands of state voters who will decide Tuesday if the death penalty should be abolished and all those sentenced to death be given penalties of life without the possibility of parole.